Guardian
by st0rmyskies
Summary: Ever since she could remember, Syl had had dreams of the "boogeyman" Bughuul. The dreams occured whenever she was troubled. Why would he bother trying to comfort her? Better yet, why did she find comfort in someone she didn't know for sure even existed? **T, just because Sinister is what it is. Content is fine. Also, can't think of a better title whoops.**
1. Chapter 1

**_A/N: So I basically just wanted some cute little something with Bughuul because he doesn't get a lot of fanfic attention lol. Was hoping Sinister 2 would give him some more hype, but alas... doesn't look like it, sadly. This is going to be like 5 chapters long. Possssibly an epilogue, wouldn't count on it. Also my first fanfic, so apologies if it's sucky. I've written and rewritten this like 52,000 times haha._**

The child woke up screaming again, the third night in a row.  
Her mother ran in, holding her almost-hyperventilating daughter to her chest. "Shhh, shhh. It's ok. You're ok."  
Her father walked in, a concerned expression drawn on his face. "This is the third night-"  
"Not now, Isaac," Sasha sharply whispered. Isaac knelt beside the bed, resting a comforting hand on his daughter's back.  
"Ensley, honey, what was it?" Sasha asked, stroking the shaking child's hair.  
"It's alright, mommy." Ensley felt some force not her own was willing her to hedge. She wouldn't say. She couldn't say.  
"You can tell me, Pumpkin." Her mom saw in her eyes that something was bothering her.  
"I'm alright." Ensley moved out of her mother's embrace, and back to the warmth of her covers. "I'll be ok."  
"I hope so, Sweetie," Isaac replied. Ensley smiled up at her dad. Her mom kissed her goodnight, flicked the light off, and left.  
Ensley turned into her pillow, noticing a tall, dark figure in the corner of her room. Moonlight slightly illuminated an eyeless, mouthless face framed with long, dark unkempt hair. He wore a suit with a long overcoat, giving him a clean, regal appearance. He didn't scare or intimidate her, for some reason. She immediately was drawn to him with a childlike fascination.

Only eight years old, Ensley Harper proved to be more difficult than he'd expected. Innocence, yes, but fear...fear was a key player. Using fear or insecurities to lure his prey to do his bidding. But this one? She had neither. The child's eyes snapped open again. "Don't you have anyone else to watch?" she said suddenly. She knew who he was. Her brother Mason was obsessed with the string of murders spanning decades in the past. Another roadblock. He stepped towards her bed, her eyes glistened in the light.  
"Not right now, young one," a deep, more soothing than chilling, voice said in her mind. "But you also do not know my intentions."  
Ensley got out of bed and slowly walked towards the figure, who towered over her, more than a regular grown-up. "You the boogeyman?"  
"That is what children - and uneducated adults - call me, yes."  
She stared at him in awe, as if she was in some type of trance. "You gonna hurt me? Mason says you make kids kill people. And then you kill them. I don't wanna. I love my family."  
"I know you do, child. I have no such plan in mind for you." he told her. That settled it, he thought. This one wouldn't be the food or sacrifice he would need.  
"Then... why are you here?" Ensley asked, rubbing her eyes sleepily. He picked her up gently, and laid her back into her bed, placing her blanket over her. She reached her hand out to touch his, for some reason. She looked up at him, a questioning gaze over her face.  
"One day, you will understand." In a nanosecond, he was gone. Ensley sighed. If he was the same one haunting her dreams, why was he so nice? Maybe he wasn't "haunting" them, so much as simply appearing in them? Too late for "big thoughts", Ensley thought to herself. She yawned and nestled into her covers, slowly falling asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

11 years later/Present Day

Who had filmed this? Ensley - Syl - thought. Even more so, why did the file suddenly appear on her computer? Mason had told her about several accounts of the boogeyman acting like a computer virus. ...Why did that thought suddenly pop into her mind?  
Syl remembered that night, talking to the boogeyman, not knowing, in fact, if he was real or not. Sure Mason was obsessed with the whole thing, but her parents were skeptical. No evil entity was responsible for the murders. Just the children. She grew up forgetting either side. Not caring. It is, or it isn't. But she was filled with a petrifying curiosity now. Had he done this? And why now? It seemed, though, every time in her life spanning from age five til now, when there was a rough patch, there were dreams. He was always in those dreams. Never failed. All night every night for months following her father's death. It was after the encounter, she presumed, that the dreams didn't scare her. They distracted her from the pain; they comforted her, even. But the precise memory of the encounter with the Boogeyman had faded, even though her dreams kept his image freshly imprinted in her mind.

**  
Ensley, then 16, woke up with tears streaming down her cheeks again. It had been a month since her father had died. She suddenly didn't feel so alone. She felt safe. She felt loved.

He had taken up the role of guardian, for all intents and purposes. He knew why, too. But right now, the only thing he should be thinking of is protecting her. Comforting her. Helping her feel safe, and not alone. Her eyes, puffy glassy with tears, were not any different than when she was a toddler. The same look behind them would stay her whole life. The same spark of wonder would stay behind them forever. She took ragged breaths, trying to calm herself from crying again. He saw the brother come in and try to talk to her. The brother left after several minutes.  
How he wished he could manifest himself now to comfort this ailing soul.  
Ensley fell asleep, feeling as if someone had took her in their arms. She wouldn't realize until later that it was not her father after all.  
**

"Whatcha watching, kid?" Syl's roomate Natalie asked.  
"Uh, old home movie..." Syl replied, thankful the video was over.  
"Can I see?" Natalie replied. "Or is that your fancy word for po-"  
"Nat. Please."  
Natalie laughed. "Joking, joking. Hey, I'm going out tonight, need anything?"  
"From...?" Syl asked.  
"I dunno. Food? Drink?"  
"Surprise me."  
"Okee dokes," Natalie said. "See ya." Syl nodded slightly and turned her attention back to the video. After hearing the door slam shut behind her roommate, she replayed it. Silent, jittery film. Different rooms and hallways in her childhood home. Mason rocking out with his stereo, holding an invisible microphone. Her mother and father - "Oh, daddy..." she whimpered. They were sitting on the couch watching tv, giggling together. She swallowed the growing lump in her throat. The video darkened and panned to a dark room with a screaming child. Tear-stained cheeks buried into her mother. A silhouette in the corner of the room. Suddenly, a face appeared and the video ended. It hadn't been there the first time. But she wasn't watching closely then, thanks to Natalie, she told herself. "I remember you..." she whispered. "You were just in my head. Just...in my head..." Syl shuddered. The memory of his calm, soothing, honey-like voice was crystal clear. "Just in my head. I need a drink," she added with a cuss under her breath.


	3. Chapter 3

Syl poured herself a glass of wine and sat on the couch, flicking the tv on. She settled into the cushions and took a sip. Not three minutes into her show, she heard a thump upstairs. Neighbors, probably. Sip. Another, closer thump. Longer sip. Gulp. A loud crash. Jump. Pour some more. Silence. Gulp gulp. She stood up slowly and turned towards the stairs. Sighing, she turned back around, only to come face-to-face with her old friend, the Boogeyman. _How cliche_ , she thought, rubbing her eyes. Surely it must be the drink. She wasn't scared. She stepped back, tilting her head.  
He studied her, just as he had when she was young. Not much changed, not accounting for her adult appearance. A chill ran down Syl's spine now. She stared at him. Never seen him in the light before. Scary, intimidating, ...alluring. She was going to say something along the lines of "Are you going to say something, or just stand here?" but nerves and alcohol had her nearly lose her lunch, instead of actually speaking. She breathed in deeply.  
"You remember, do you not?" his voice filled her mind with honey once more. Syl nodded, another chill, but not of fear.  
"I do. Tell me, was I...not good enough...to be your demon-child minion?" she asked. She tried to sound confident, but her voice was shaky, even bitter, if anything.  
"I didn't want you to be one of my children. It's different now."  
"But now, I'm not a child." Why was she talking to a hallucination?  
"No..." He swept the tangle of hair from her sweat-covered forehead in a quick movement. "You aren't."  
Syl broke her stare. "What do you want? You going to kill me, feast on my soul _now_?"  
"I never planned on consuming your soul," his telepathic voice replied.  
"I remember. What do you want?" she whispered, looking back up at him.  
"As a child, you were not afraid of me, or hardly anything. I needed the fear. You had the innocence I needed, but now it is different. You are still innocent, but you are afraid of me. You are afraid of more now, because of your pain. That combination is rare in humans your age."  
"Listen, Boogeyman, I don't care if you've been haunting me my whole life, which it seems you were. But yet I really don't care what you do to me. I also really want to know what my purpose to you has been. 20 years is a long wait."  
"Isn't it..." he said quietly, almost melancholy.  
"Don't you have anyone else to screw with?" Syl wondered.  
"Same brazen confidence, but now, you are literally radiating fear."  
Syl rolled her eyes. They were magnets suddenly drawn back to him, studying this ..thing. She recalled the same reaction when she was younger. Something about him attracted her, she could not stop it. Something about him, how he spoke so calmly. How he moved so regally. How he was somehow so attractive to her, in the oddest ways. She caught herself thinking too much about his appearance when images started burning into her mind. They were images from the dreams replaying. They were some of the "stories" Mason obsessed over made real in her mind. As if she had been there, recording it all. He was doing this. She blinked heavily. "Ensley," he whispered. "What I want from you is your death."  
"Could have dealt that any time between my birth and now."  
He shook his head. "Immortality."  
"What?" Syl exclaimed.  
"I will take your mortality from you."  
Syl almost laughed. "Very funny, but I'd rather die than spend eternity blindly roaming the universe or whatever immortal things do."  
"I want you to have the opportunity to travel throughout all universes and realms with me."  
"With you? You want _me_... to live forever... with you." Syl asked. He nodded slowly. "What if I don't agree to this?"  
"You already have."  
Of course she has. She knew she had. "What about this life?"  
"It's done. You will not belong to the human realm any longer."  
"Why do you want _me_? Of every single human on this planet, you choose me."  
"Simple," he said. "As a child, I couldn't use you. But now, you are what I need. And you are alone. You know you are."  
"With you, away from earth..." Syl trailed off.  
"And not alone."  
"I'm still not a killer."  
"Thus the innocence," he replied. "I don't expect you to do anything you do not desire. You want this. I need this. Let me take your mortality. Let me keep you. Let me protect you."  
"Can you protect me from yourself? You honestly want me to believe I can do whatever I want, even if that means not killing, not coaxing kids to do your bidding, and all sorts of other ...things?"  
"My servants do my bidding. They have no choice. You will not be my servant, Syl. You will be my equal."  
"Equal..." she repeated. "Why? I have no reason to trust you. I don't trust you."  
She had no reason not to.  
She stood silently. Blankly staring at him. No thoughts. Mostly shock. She almost numbly felt his hand caress her face. She felt her hand rest itself on his chest. She felt his hand in her hair. She felt herself leaning her head into him. She numbly whispered, "Take it."  
She snapped herself out of the robotic motions.  
Only to feel the weight of his head being laid on hers, his hair brushing the sides of her face. Only to hear a quiet, sincere, "Thank you."


	4. Chapter 4

Syl sat bolt-upright from her bed. She looked at her phone to see what time it was. Morning, with a dull headache. Cracking her neck to each side, she cleared her mind. Some dream... Yet, she could still vividly feel him. She thought she remembered being taken up to her room, gently laid in bed and tucked in, just like the first encounter. But it was just a dream. They both were just dreams. She grabbed her phone to check the time. Sighing, she dialed her brother.  
He picked up after two rings. "Syl?"  
"Hey, Mase," she said groggily.  
"You sound like death, you ok?"  
She laughed hoarsely. "Eh, hungover...and some disturbing dreams again."  
"Oh, well then..." Mason replied. "Did you finally go out with Natty?"  
"No, I was by myself."  
Her tone changed, and Mason felt that. "What's wrong, Syl?"  
"How's Taylor, and the baby?"  
"Two months out, both doing well," he replied. "Hun, why did you call?"  
"Did you...did you give up... on those murders?" she asked sleepily.  
"Ensley. We were children, then. You know they had logical explanations, not involving the boogeyman."  
"You didn't answer me, Mason."  
There was silence on the other end for several seconds. "Yes. I did," Mason replied, not sounding extremely confident.  
Syl sighed. "He feeds on children."  
"Murderous kids, maybe some serial killer in makeup, the guy probably lived in those houses. Look, kiddo, I'm not going to talk my 25 year old sister out of believing in the boogeyman. He is not real."  
"Then explain my dreams, Mase."  
"You had a subconscious obsession, apparently. Used him as some sort of security blanket. Real weird, Syl. Most kids avoid thinking about monsters and boogeymen," Mason replied. "What's this about?"  
 _He came to me and he's taking me to his death world_. "Nothing. Sorry." She rubbed her head. "Tell Taylor hi from me. Love you, Mason."  
"Syl."  
"Sometimes, we make up our own realities to shield ourselves from the truth," she replied. Like trying to convince herself she was only dreaming, when she knew this had happened in reality.  
Mason sighed. "I know what you're implying..." He himself knew he had forced himself to forget. Especially once he met Taylor. Especially when they were expecting. The thought petrified him. So of course he would forget about it. Of course it was all a hoax.  
"I saw him, Mase. Once when I was five, and then yesterday."  
"What do you mean?" Mason exclaimed.  
"He came to my room when I was younger. He didn't hurt me, and he told me he wasn't going to. Since then, I was the only kid not afraid of the boogeyman..."  
"And yesterday?" he replied hesitantly.  
"Yesterday, he...I...we...he..." her tongue was locked. "Remember when mom would ask about my night terrors? I couldn't tell her. Those dreams weren't scary after I met him, but yet he didn't want me to say anything. And right now... he doesn't."  
"Why not?"  
"I can't tell you, Mason. Just know... I love you... and, I owe this to him. You're always my number one. But I owe this to my guardian, who never left me. Like you never did, but different, alright? This is different."  
"What do you owe the Boogeyman? How do you owe that soul-devouring piece of-"  
"Mason! I can't tell you, alright? I want to explain everything, but he won't allow it," Syl replied. She hoped he would get sort of a hint. "He's always been and always will be my protector and guardian, he told me that."  
"And I haven't? You actually believe him? What's happening? Ensley, tell me!" Mason yelled.  
"Yes, yes of course you have. You've always been there for me. But it's different now. You're too far away. You have a family, Mase. I'm alone, alright? And I have no reason not to believe him. I can't tell you. Please, Mason. I love you, bro. I love you so much."  
"Syl, whatever you're doing, don't."  
"I love you, Mase."  
"I love you, Syl?" He replied shakily.  
"Good bye." She hung up. Maybe she _was_ insane. She climbed out of bed, rubbed her eyes, and groaned, stretching out her back. She slightly stumbled to the bathroom to brush her teeth. The pit of her stomach roiled, and it wasn't because she was hungover. Her fate was sealed, she knew. She was sane, it had happened, she was going to leave it all behind. A chill of adrenaline rushed through her body. Again, but why? Why her?


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: thank you for the favs/follows/reviews! I didn't expect this to get any attention at all so I'm very happy! Last chapter, no epilogue. But it's long so...  
Over Christmas break I plan to another (aka a non-fluffy, canon-er) Sinister fic. Ya know, once Sinister 2 is on Bluray, so I get to watch it over, and over, and over ...and get inspiration!**

 **Thanks again!**

* * *

Syl went back to her room. She sighed deeply. What did Mason think? Would he get the hint? He probably would, once he realized he couldn't remember the last time he heard from his sister. She glanced at her phone and dropped it with a gasp. The lock screen... the lock screen was _them_ , as if someone snapped a shot from yesterday. She set her phone screen side down and got dressed. _So it wasn't a dream_ , she thought. _Of course it wasn't_. She went back to her phone and gazed at his side of the picture, studying it with her same childlike admiration. Syl felt both a deep uneasy feeling, and an extreme sense of comfort. Sighing again, she tossed her phone on her bed and exited her bedroom.

"Nat?" she called out. Probably crashed at some guy's house. Syl walked downstairs, rubbing her head. She rounded the corner and went into the kitchen. She poured herself a bowl of cereal, and sat down, head in her hands. Rubbing her temples, she straightened up and began to eat. Syl glanced at the time on the microwave and saw him in the reflection of the glass. She shot up and whirled around, eyes wide. They regarded each other silently for a moment before he walked towards her. Slowly, smoothly. The bottom of his long coat swaying gently with his strides. He looked so regal, so majestic; every bit like the deity he is. Her pulse quickened slightly. This was it, she knew. He was going to take her away.  
Syl gazed up at him, closeted doubt suddenly flooding her. "Listen-" she shuddered slightly, immediately silenced by his cupping a hand on her cheek, feeling him brush her mouth with his thumb.  
"You're coming with me." The warm, velvety-smooth sound of his voice in her head sounded unsure, almost questioning.  
Syl took it as a question. "Of course." No matter what, she owed her guardian this. Didn't she? She laid a hand on his arm, feeling his fingers gently caress her face.  
"It's time, then."  
Syl bubbled with both fear and excitement. No going back. Why did he want _her_? When you think about him, you don't really picture him as someone even remotely humane. And yet, here he is. But what if this is all a ruse? He's obviously a master manipulator, seeing how he captures his children. The worst he could do is torture her (...for eternity...) Immortal, with him forever. How was this a good idea? Yet, part of her knew nothing would happen. Not everyone has ulterior motives, but he's pretty bad. Sinister. Her fate was that she would no longer be bound to this single realm. No longer bound by death. She would live as his supposed "equal". In the end, however, her life would belong to him. He would treat her as an equal, but she would be powerless against him. Her fate would belong to him. Would he abuse that power?

"What happens if you get tired of me? Or if I somehow dishonor or disobey you? Torture me throughout the rest of eternity?" _Where were these questions yesterday, before I agreed?_  
"Syl," his voice filled her mind, somehow immediately reassuring her. "Nothing you will do will be worth any amount of torture. I have waited millenia for you." That sent a barrage of emotions swirling through her head. He held out his hand.  
She took it reluctantly, but he held her with almost a desperation, as if...if he'd lose her forever if he let go.

"Why me?" she whispered, still in awe. " _Why_ do you want - need - me?"  
"For the same reason you want this. You don't want to be alone for the rest of your life." He gently stroked the end of her hair. "But I can't have you unless you give me your mortality. You could not survive with me in any other realm as a mortal, and I have no desire to be bound to a single dimension, as you can imagine."  
Syl's eyes dropped. Bughuul, the obscure yet extremely powerful deity, the boogeyman, the childhood obsession of both her and Mason, wanted her. Needed her. How was this real? How did she get so ...lucky? "You remember those dreams," his telepathic voice was lowered, more emotional. Syl nodded slowly. "You've felt my presence before. I watched out for you, as best as I could. I felt your loneliness. It was like mine."  
"Lonely ...with all those kids?" Syl heard her muddled thoughts manifest into words. _Really, Syl?_  
He did find that slightly amusing. He tilted his head slightly. "As you are even with your brother, roommate, or coworkers. You know it is not the same."  
"I know," Syl replied. "I know. But..." her voice trailed off.

He sensed her reluctance. He knew he had told her she would be his equal, therefore, she would have her own say. She could still change her mind. "I know you've agreed already. But you... you still have a choice. I am not forcing you. I am simply asking. Please." He sounded almost desperate, yet so sincere. He in no way sounded like the wretched child-snatching, soul-devouring "boogeyman" that he is.  
"I've made my choice already." Any doubt still left in her head had vanished. "You've been with me my whole life. You've never left me. You've seen me at my worst and you still chose me. Maybe that's why I took Mason's obsession so deep to heart. I've always wanted this." She stepped closer to him. "I've always wanted you," she added softly. Her fingers gently went to where his mouth would be, and traced the ash-gray markings up his cheek. She ran her fingers through a strand of his hair and swept it out of his face. Syl's eyes locked onto him again. "I'm ready," she whispered. His hand left hers and went around her waist. As he picked her up, she looped her arms around him, nestling her head into his neck.

To her guardian's realm. Forever protected. Away from Earth. Away from death.

Gone.


End file.
